Fishing Junk Water
What started as the sketchiest junk lake turned into something much harder to leave behind
3/20/2026Michelle Jarvie9 min read
Fly-fishing
Gradual Untangling
Fly Tying? You want me to tie a fly? No way. I can’t even darn socks. I knew I had enrolled in a fly fishing school, but I never thought about the fly tying aspect that would accompany my studies. School started and there I was, my instructor persuading me to give it a try. Reluctantly I went to the tying area. With a heavy heart, I tried my hand at tying my first fly, and managed to make a large and splendid bug. That disheveled fly went on to startle many fish, but one showed interest; all was
Oman
Oman … the name alone conjures up images of the desert, sand dunes and camels. This is the place that I now call home and where my husband and I have started our fishing business: Arabian Fly Sport Fishing. Most people’s first reactions are “Oh yeah, I saw the movie Fly Fishing in Yemen. Is it like that?” Well we haven’t built our own river and stocked it with wild salmon, that’s for sure. Our business is saltwater fishing. Oman has over 2000 kilometers of coastline - from rugged, unforgiving cl
Wild
Laurentian Great Lakes steelhead are a complex stock of fish. The population is a mixture of hatchery-released and wild, naturally reproduced fish originating from many different streams. Knowing the natal streams of the fish is important to best managing this species, as it allows for targeted conservation and management to the areas that are the major contributors to the total lake population. Fortunately, we may be able to determine the natal stream of a fish by looking at its otolith. Otoli
Latest
Zen Fly Fishing
I was recently asked by someone I had just met, “What do you do?” I paused before responding because that was a loaded question. Where do I start? What don’t I do? How to answer this question? A list of optional responses flashed in my mind in that micro-second of a moment. I function as the glue that holds my family together. I’m a mother and do all that motherly stuff –even with a college student. I’m a wife, and although that’s completely different from being a mother, there’s a nurturing, l
Home Waters
In 2008, Lynn Camp Prong, a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was closed to fishing to restore native Southern Appalachian Brook Trout to their home water. Like the ‘brookies,’ I have always considered it my home water. It has always been a favorite place for our family and only a short drive from our home in Townsend, Tennessee. The end of the gravel road where the trail follows the stream is the place we love to fish, hike and play as a family. Throughout the past seven yea
Martini Adventure
Last year some women friends and I took a trip to the Bighorn River in southeast Montana for dry fly fishing. It’s a tail-water river known for a trifecta: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout and White Fish. They tend to be large and wily, even the ‘whities.’ While my friend, Terry and I fished our arms off last year for trout, my friends took another approach; a more leisurely approach. Their guide, they announced, was taking them for a day of Carp fishing with Martinis. A picnic they said. All we
Curiosity
These days, I have to remind myself that I’m still new to fly fishing. From an early age, I was fortunate to be exposed to skiing, hiking, and backpacking. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, so I’m no stranger to stunning mountains, water, and fresh air. For years, I had a peripheral awareness of fly fishing and a slight curiosity about the sport — but it wasn’t until this year that I finally decided to take my curiosity a step further. In April, just as I was in a solid routine
Da Perch
Using hollow tied buck-tail, schlappen and a peacock eye, this fly moves a lot of water and will get the attention of your favorite toothy critter. Smaller than many modern flies of its type, this fly is easy to cast and produces fish. Dun Magazine ~ Tails and Ties ~ Da Perch from Dun Magazine on Vimeo.
Finland
Finland is a small country of 5.2 million residents and thousands of lakes, located next to Sweden in Scandinavia. Our beautiful country has a lot of potential for fly fishing across the country, since the waters are easily reached. No matter where you live, there is always a lake or two next to you. Even though we have four amazing seasons for fly fishing, Finland still isn’t as familiar a fishing destination as our neighbor countries, Sweden and Norway. We would now like to introduce some of o
Haunted
My favorite season is Fall or what I like to call “Musky Season.” You can catch Musky in any season in rivers and lakes, but there is nothing like a beautiful fall Musky that has been feeding in preparation for winter. They are known as the fish of 10,000 casts with 700 teeth, 2 of them actual canines. What’s not to like? It amazes me the odd looks I get when I tell people my passion is Musky on the fly. A Musky is built like a submarine, but approaches like a torpedo. The bulk of my fishin
Treasures
I’ve been developing designs for Sage, Redington, and RIO for about 4 years now. It’s been a true pleasure to work in an industry that is so clearly passionate about the sport of fly fishing. When I came onboard, I had a very limited understanding of the sport from what I’d heard from my Bohemian college friends from Montana and my uncle in New Hampshire who built bamboo fly rods in his garage. I believed two things about fly fishing: my uncle’s fly rods were not to be touched and fly fishin
Mice
Tossing rodent replicas on the water at night, not seeing a bloody thing. Hoping to hear your fly go splat on the water somewhere and not hung up on the bank across stream or snagged in the trees from your back cast. Your other senses are heightened to make up for your lack of vision. Heart pounding, tingling with anticipation, waiting for the electricity of the killing kind to touch your line. Fingers poised, ready to hear a watery explosion on your kabob offering as you swim it back to you
Trash
They said, “it’s only trash.” They said, “you’ll never catch anything in there.” They said, “it’s not worth your time.” However, I saw things very differently from the moment I found my first ditch. I walked down a path behind the home where I was living at the time, only to find a fork in a bayou, and what I saw then changed me and started my journey into trashy waters. What I saw was a fish the length of my body. Not knowing what it was at the time, I started doing research on what fish,
Gender
Actual Survey Question: Why aren’t there more women in fly-fishing? Actual Answers to this Question: Because they are home making sandwiches. Cause men drool at them. No mirrors to check their make-up. Because there are no toilets. 2 buzy cooking and cleaning. Kids to raise. They should be banned anyways- it’s the only peace we get. They can’t pick out an outfit. Same reason men don’t knit or make jewelry. They don’t like cold water. They don’t like to get their hands dirty. They only like to
Experience
I have been around fishing and the outdoors for my entire life. My dad has been fly fishing for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I turned about eight, our dad started teaching us how to fly fish. We have always adhered to the Catch and Release method. Drake, my brother, is a natural at it. I have been slowly improving my skills to feel confident at the age of 14. I can now cast without getting stuck every other cast, which is pretty awesome. Despite my casting skills, I always h